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Sunday, February 1, 2009

It was an emotional moment, and I think this also lifts up sport, to see a great champion like Federer expressing his emotions. It shows his human side. But in these moments, when you see a rival, who is also a comrade, feeling like this, you enjoy the victory a little bit less.

37 comments:

Great point Rafa. The trills of victory and the agony of defeat is allways trying to sports. This really is a special rivalry. I wish that Fed would win sometimes and make it more even. It is very one-sided and rivalries are NEVER one sided and still be considered to be a rivalry.

oh Rafa, I wonder if Fed would be as gracious if he won Wimby last year and this year's AO? I guess I was holding back earlier, but seriously, RAFA's way toooooo gracious! He deserves to celebrate this moment in a big way! It's just so sad and kind of annoying that Roger couldn't hold back the tears! Remember when Rafa demolished Fed during FO last year? he barely celebrated cos he's so concerned by the way Roger played =(SIGH..... Rafa ur too kind! hope u win all 4 in one year!

@Sharon: I agree with you. Federer totally stole Rafa's thunder. Rafa couldn't even look happy at the podium cuz he felt bad for Fed. Didn't Fed beat Rafa 2 years in a row at the Wimbledon final?!?! If i remember correctly, Rafa was high-fiving Federer after one of those finals, he didn't dramatize and make it all about him. I felt bad for Roger cuz he looked completely messed up, but at the same time it was kinda awkward for Rafa to just stand there and watch him cry.

I agree. Now Fed will be viewed as the underdog from now on. Will this make him more or less the player we know or we will know him to be now? I guess people will see him as past his prime because now he really is. I mean he is 27 years old and Nadal will allways be 5 years younger. And sports is about vitality and the young will allways have that in their back pocket.

Reem that's how I see it. Of course we sympathise with Roger not getting the 14 but at the same time we do expect a 13 Grand Slam winner taking control of his emotions and saving it for the locker room. Feds ugly cries are now the headlines regarding Rafa's win! It's not fair. He stopped Rafa really enjoying his moment. This isn't some first time Grand Slam player, it's not right. Anyway this picture is how I feel about it and I'm sticking to it.

Federer is like a swan, gliding along more or less gracefully - calm, perfect, effortless. Until you look under the surface and see the enormous amounts of energy driving him - in this case his will and his drive and his passion. And it's a shock to see it suddenly exposed, that struggling part of him, but it's *there* all the time. Odd to see it, but Roger Federer is a passionate and emotional man-- how could someone as driven to win not be?-- who mostly schools himself not to show it on court.

From what Rafa said, it occurs to me that Roger's breakdown and show of how much it cost him may have made this day more memorable to him - more complex and real and to be cherished, even if painful at the time. It's certainly something that's going to stick in my mind a long long time.

$100 to any angry Fed fan commenting here who hasn't said anything remotely negative about Rafa at some point. Any takers?

So some people are a little upset Rafa wasn't able to enjoy his victory in quite the same way...I understand that. But I can see it both ways. Stealing the moment? Sure a little bit. Did he mean to do it? I sincerely doubt that. These two wonderful players shared a great moment with each other during the ceremony, exchanged nice words - and that's always good to see. But to take jabs at each other for supporting one guy over the other, I think is stupid. Let people feel the way they want to feel about the situation. I mean, if you're letting Fed express his emotions, why can't us fans do the same?

"$100 to any angry Fed fan commenting here who hasn't said anything remotely negative about Rafa at some point. Any takers?"

You owe me $100. I am a big fan of Federer. That said I think Rafa is great and I totally enjoy seeing them play each other. It has been fantastic for the sport of tennis. I am not the kind of fan who says negative things about players because I actually don't know them and as a tennis player they are phenoms to me. I admire them both.

Why does liking either Rafa or Roger seem to always automatically mean that you must passionately dislike the other? I know that there are some people who are fans of both extraordinary players (like myself).

I feel that Rgoer's tears did steal some of Nadal's thunder...but at the same time, I'm sure that if Roger could have controlled his tears (and from my point of view, it seemed like he was trying very hard to compose himself), he would have. Sometimes people just get caught up in the moment and I think that both Roger and Rafa handled the moment graciously and with their usual classiness and sincerity. Good on both players - but especially for Rafa for that tremendous performance and win.

Anon 12:08, I totally agree with you. Yes, roger's tears may have given him more attention, but the attention was still on Rafa as the winner. I thought that it was so nice of roger to go up there even before he was completely ready and say that he has to go first because rafa as the champion deserves to have the last word. as for people saying that roger's tears were a way of making it all about him, comon guys, hes not an actor. he cried when we won at AO a few years ago, and at wimbie when he lost to nadal he tried to control himself. I can only imagine what it's like to stand there in front of thousands of people with so many emotions. i think that as for rafa, he was not at all concerned that his thunder was stolen, if anything, this victory is more meaningful for what it represents and for how much both of them fought for it.

Fed surely never wanted to steal Rafa's thunder. The emotions just took him over.Imagine you having all those emotions and expectations and pressure and tension built up inside you, and suddenly there's something, maybe a word, a gesture, whatever, that opens the gates and all breaks loose. You can't hold back from that point anymore.

Rafa understood that. So should we I guess.

I'm a total Rafa fan, which doesn't mean I'd be bashing Fed. I don't really see the need for all the drama, fan-camp-wise.

Anyways, if you look at it on a funny note, I think the picture Sharon posted was really hilarious. Of course no serious harm meant. ;-)

What Rafa said is so sweet :-)) I'm a Fedfan, but have nothing against his opponents or Rafa whatsoever.

Yesterday's final was just a beautiful display of a wonderful tennis AND great humanity. Roger is human and has the right to show his feelings. To accuse him of doing it 'on purpose' to 'steal the spotlight' is just crazy. I'm sure he never intended to do so, moreover, I guess he was embarassed of his tears coming out before the crowd and Rafa, to show his feelings so openly to the world, but just couldn't surpress the emotions.

But the reactions of the crowd and Rafa were just fantastic. Oh, Rafa, I may start to support you ;-)

I think it was the announcer going on and on with things like Federer being everyone’s favorite etc. that got to him, especially when he had just let all his fans down by his performance in the 5th set.

Rafa came across as a genuinely nice person, seemed to know how to handle the situation, very mature and impressive. He is such a great champion.

I wonder about people who accuse Roger of stealing somebody's moment. Have they never gotten emotional and lost it? Even as a kid? Do they not understand human behavior? And what kind of fan are they if they don't know that Rafa most likely isn't so selfish and uncompassionate to whine about his moment being stolen because the person he defeated got emotional about it? Whenever you compete against someone you like and beat them it's always bittersweet.

I have a doubles partner who is also my friend. We have played as a team for a few years and we really respect eachother as players and people. Recently we played against eachother in a singles match and this time I won. All through the last games I was fighting thoughts coming into my head about what she was feeling because she was making some errors that I knew she was annoyed by but I kept playing as well as I could. When it was over, my initial reaction was of course YAY! but right after that my real concern was for her and we talked about it at the net for a bit. Now this is nowhere even close to the level of emotion generated at the Rafa/Roger level but I think it helps me understand the mixed emotions one can feel in these situations. When people were trashing Roger for crying and 'stealing' Rafa's moment I was shocked. I'm pretty sure it didn't feel like that to Rafa. It is all part of competition and winning and losing. I think it is what makes athletic competition so compelling. In this case a lot was on the line for Roger- most importantly is his impending mortality as a professional tennis player along with the 14th slam- big stuff.

All in all I thought it was a great moment- Rafa will forever be remembered for being so compassionate- these days it's a pleasure to witness. He probably won over a lot of new fans.

i want Roger to win his 14th and 15th Slam! I also want Rafa in the next couple of years to beat Sampras' record!! They both are such gracious, humble, down to earth guys!! You never see them embarrassing themselves in tabloids, strippers, drunkeness, drugs,etc. They both are so likable!! Thats why most tennis fans like the two of them. They both are just down to earth guys who devote 100% to tennis. You can't say that about most guys on the ATP. (i just pictured David Nalbandian posing with naked girls...haha)

They both seem to genuinely like each other...and if both of them spoke a common language fluently, i am sure they would actually be friends. 20 Years from now, these two will be sitting in VIP boxes at matches together and giving encouragement to a whole new generation.

i'm dying to have roger lift his 14th, 15th, 16th slam! if only because no one plays as BEAUTIFULLY as he does! and his character is a credit to the sport!

as for nadal, at 22 [and even when he was a few years younger], he displays amazing maturity. i don't remember him ever saying bad things about other players, never swell-headed. i don't like the way nadal plays [he's a great athlete, but i prefer the aesthetic tennis roger plays], but i truly admire his humanity.

i also agree that the announcer during the trophy ceremony helped open the floodgates of roger's tears. he just kept rambling on and on and on. i actually wondered if laver would give roger a hug on stage at that point when tears started flowing.